A Bit of a Rock
by xwordsaremyweaknessx
Summary: When Bex goes missing Karen needs a shoulder to cry on


It had been a day filled with every emotion possible, starting with pride, joy and excitement then quickly turning to shock, sadness, fear and ended with a feeling of despair. At 1am Karen felt as though she couldn't take any more. Jess and Harry had not long been sent off to bed but she knew all too well they wouldn't be sleeping because she wouldn't be able to sleep herself. The headteacher picked up the glass of wine from the table and held it to her lips but even the notion of alcohol made her feel nauseous and she put the glass back down on the table. Tears had been shed and words had been shouted but nothing had changed; Bex had gone again. Karen sighed as she watched the small hand of the clock on her fireplace move repetitively, the ticking soothing her while she tried to figure out where she had gone so wrong. She reached for her phone, not knowing who she was going to call but realising she couldn't be strong for her kids on her own without her husband there to support her.

Charlie, Chris, about everyone else at work and as she reached the bottom of her contacts list her finger hovered above Tom's number. It was too late to call and she knew it, he wouldn't answer, he wouldn't even be awake she thought, so to be safe she began to type out a text instead;

Hi Tom, you probably aren't even awake but if you are can we talk? Karen X

Karen took a deep breath and hit send before discarding the phone on the sofa beside her and resting her head back to stare blankly at the ceiling. Her mind wandered from Bex to school to Bex to Charlie and back to Bex again but her thoughts were quickly interrupted by her mobile ringing. She scrambled to find where her phone had landed before it rang off but found it in time to see Tom Clarkson was calling.

"Hi Tom"

"Karen, I got your text, is everything alright?"

"Why are you up so late?" Karen questioned, ignoring Tom's concern on account of not knowing where to begin.

"I stayed up to watch the match, then couldn't get off to sleep. Are you alright Karen?"

"I hate to burden you but I just didn't know who else to turn to" Karen's voice broke

"Hey look you can always talk to me. Tell me what's happened"

"Bex has gone" She finally managed to spit out

"Gone? Gone where?"

"She's run away again Tom"

"Are you at home?"

"Yes, I'm home, Harry and Jess have gone to bed"

"Right, give me 5 minutes and I'll be round"

"You don't have to come round Tom, not at this time and what about Josh?"

"Josh is staying at Finn's tonight and I know I don't have to, I want to, now you go and get that kettle on and I'll be there by the time it's boiled"

Karen knew better than to argue, she wanted him to come round, she just felt guilty for asking for help "Thanks Tom" she managed before hanging up the call.

True to his word, as Karen poured out two cups of tea Tom arrived at the door. He texted Karen to let her know he was outside rather than disturb the kids by ringing the bell.

She rushed to open it and as she saw her colleague standing on her doorstep, emotions reached boiling point and her smile quickly turned to tears. Tom stepped forward catching her in an embrace before she fell to her knees. He soothed and stroked her hair as he held his boss close to him. After a few moments Karen's sobs became less frequent and Tom loosened his grip, holding the broken woman before him at arm's length to look her in the eye.

"Are you going to let me in or what it's freezing out here" Tom asked jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. Karen jumped back and opened the door wider to let him through and that's when she noticed it.

"Tom, are you wearing pyjamas?"

"I told you I'd be here in 5 and I don't like to keep a lady waiting" he smiled, shrugging off his jacket to reveal his matching pyjama top and shorts set.

Karen laughed when she thought she would never be able to laugh again "You better come in and drink that tea then"

It went silent for a few moments; Karen didn't have the words to explain and Tom didn't like to ask. It was Tom who spoke first "Nice tea Karen"

"I'm sorry I've dragged you here Tom, it's just…"

"Hey, there was no dragging involved, I'm here to listen, to help, to…whatever you need" he reassured as he placed his hand over hers.

"There were times when she was missing when I didn't think I'd ever see her again, I thought she was dead. Then when she came home I was so happy but I was so frightened to push her or ask her anything in case she left again but today I had to ask her about that video and now she's gone and it might be for good this time, I may never see my daughter again" Karen sobbed again.

Tom did nothing more than pull Karen into his chest and embrace her until she settled. "You will see her again, today has been overwhelming for all of you, it's a lot to take in and she's probably just scared and ashamed and in her own way is probably trying to protect her family"

"But I thought I'd got through to her, I told her I would support her through this, that I loved her no matter what"

"And deep down she knows that. It's a lot for you to process, she's just a kid, give her time. Keep calling her, keep telling her you love her, don't ever give up on her"

"You're very wise Tom" Karen complemented, knowing what her colleague was telling her was very true, it was just very hard to remain calm and composed.

"Yeah well, I've been there too" he confessed.

"What do you mean?"

"A few years back, my step daughter, Chlo, she went missing. She had done something she wasn't proud of, she slept with her sister's boyfriend and the whole school found out, her sister told her she hated her and she wanted her gone so she went"

"Tom, I had no idea, I'm so sorry, what happened?"

"I was frantic, like you are now. Mica, my other step daughter, was in bits, blamed herself. I hounded the police, trawled the streets, didn't sleep for days on end, I was angry and scared. But then one day I got a call from the police saying she had been arrested for shoplifting but released. I tracked her down eventually"

"Where did she go? Was she alright?"

"She was staying with this girl and her boyfriend, who tried making her sleep with random men to earn her keep" Karen gasped and put her hand to her mouth. "She was lucky, I found her in time and I took her home. It took a while to get over it and get back to normal, but we did. Thing is Karen, Chlo never wanted to leave us and her home, she thought she was doing the right thing by us, protecting us, she was just a scared kid and I bet that's exactly how Bex feels right now"

"So what do I do Tom?"

"You stay strong and you never give up" he spoke from experience.

"Alright" Karen agreed, not sure how she was going to actually stay strong. "When she went missing before, Charlie was my rock and now he's not here and I just don't think I can…"

Tom cut her off "You can and you will. Those kids upstairs need you to be strong for them"

"They're being strong for me. I went to pieces today, I was ready to give up but Jess insisted we keep looking for her, she's being so positive and hopeful and grown up and Harry's been brilliant"

"They are good kids but it's not their job Karen, it's yours. You pull yourself together, get your arse in gear and be strong for your family" Tom ordered.

Karen laughed, knowing he was right "Alright" she agreed.

"Good. And I'm here, whatever you need, whether it's a good cry, someone to shout at or someone to drive you round Manchester, I'm here"

"Thank you Tom, I really appreciate it. I hate cry in front of people and I hate bringing my private life into work"

"Hey, you can cry all you need to in front of me and besides, we're not in work now, are we?"

"No, I suppose we're not. Thank you"

"Have you spoken to Charlie?" Tom asked

"Yeah I called him earlier to see if she had gone there but he hasn't seen or heard from her. I stupidly thought he might offer to come here, to be there for Harry and Jess but his new family is more important apparently"

"He's a coward, you don't need him, you've got this Karen"

Karen nodded and sighed, trying to process everything he had said to her.

"I think you need some sleep" Tom told her.

"I don't think I'd be able to" her brain was in overdrive, switching off and relaxing enough to sleep would have been impossible.

"Right, you stay there" Tom ordered as he got up and left the living room. Karen was confused but didn't argue.

Moments later he appeared back with a duvet and placed it over Karen and the rest of the sofa before getting under it himself. "Come on then" he gestured for Karen to cuddle into him, which she did without hesitation. "I'm not leaving you tonight so you just close your eyes and try getting some rest"

It wasn't long before Karen was asleep but first she managed to whisper "You know Tom, you're a bit of a rock"


End file.
